Glimpse – Runner review

Christopher Spero, aka Glimpse has developed his career with integrity and a focused patience. Despite a deeply-rooted underground sensibility and an uncompromising experimental approach, Glimpse has still managed to win the attention of the wider mainstream. With releases for labels such as Carl Craig’s Planet E, Buzzin Fly, Cadenza, Kindisch, Get Physical and Crosstown Rebels, the London born producer has been bubbling away on the underground scene for years now. But it is on his debut artist album Runner where Glimpse drops his true masterpiece, taking his innovative and fresh production techniques to new heights.

Runner is clearly the work of an open-minded artist who is informed by a rich variety of influences. Shifting through an array of different moods and genres, the record fuses house and techno with elements of jazz, soul and classical into one innovative body of work. From the African influenced opener, “Walk Tall” the album spans the classic deep house vibes of tracks like “Things to Do in Denver” and “I Know I Show It,” the up-tempo tech-house of “New Beginnings” and onto the more contemporary and trippy sound of “If I Was Your Girl.” “Feel Ok” morphs itself from moody jazz to afro-latin house; we see exotic flavours in “Alone Again” and get atmospheric dubby pleasures on the electronica cut, “Enjoyable Employable.” Although the various styles add intrigue, what truly sets the album apart from the rest is Glimpse’s fresh and experimental production techniques. Most of the tracks were recorded live on analogue equipment, edited only afterward. This gives his music a more improvised quality akin to his jazz interest, not to mention enhances its warmth and organic feel. The lo-fi aesthetic of the album draws on the rudimentary influences of original house music whilst Glimpse modernises it with field recordings of his everyday life, included to stamp his personality onto the record in addition to a sample of a live crowd, used to accentuate certain beats. A highly accomplished and created debut from Glimpse, Runner will definitely be a contender come the end of year polls.

Review: Tom Jones